Marketplace Solutions Blog

Stopping Product Diversion is becoming increasingly important for brands due to the continued growth of e-commerce and online marketplaces. It is key to ultimately being able to successfully enforcing a MAP policy. Minimum advertised price policies, or MAP policies, are intended to limit the ...

In general, the First Sale Doctrine permits a person to sell another’s genuine trademarked goods. However, a failure to abide by or follow a company’s quality controls can give rise to trademark infringement. Placing tracking codes on products can play an integral part in enforcing against ...

E-commerce sales continue to increase. In fact, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce in early 2015, online retail sales in the United States totaled nearly $305 billion. This marked an increase of more than 15 percent since 2013. Unfortunately some of this growth is ...

Many companies tell authorized sellers or consultants that they will sell their products exclusively through them. Such companies might also have written policies against product diversion and unauthorized online sales. This looks good for purposes of marketing and trying to convince ...

If a company suspects that an online seller is engaged in the unauthorized re-selling of its products on websites like eBay, it is up to that company to take action. The brand will need to attempt to enforce their policies and procedures -- to the extent that it has any. While third-party ...

Unauthorized dealers and online sellers have become very problematic for many businesses. Such sales can affect those offering high-end luxury products, companies selling salon or skin care products and also multi-level marketing (or MLM) companies. While not an ideal problem to have, affected ...

Companies seeking to stop and prevent product diversion should consider adopting zero tolerance policies. In essence, a zero tolerance policy amounts to using actual consequences to mold authorized distributors’ behaviors. The goal of an anti-diversion policy is deterring authorized ...

Grey market goods generally refer to items manufactured in one country and imported into another without the trademark owner's consent. Often referred to as parallel imports, grey market goods can be problematic for businesses. Specifically, those that take steps to prohibit importation into ...

Most consumers are unable to distinguish the average counterfeit product from a legitimate product. In fact, according to a recent study, nearly one in four consumers have unknowingly been a victim of counterfeit online sales activity and bought a counterfeit product on the internet. Thus, the ...

Trademark law is one of the key tools for stopping unauthorized sellers. When an unauthorized seller offers products that are materially different than genuine products, it may infringe the company’s trademark. Many businesses have a warranty or guarantee that only apply to products bought ...